Dear LS Students, Families, and Staff,
I am writing to inform you know that the LS School Committee voted to approve several important items at its meeting last night.
First, a Budget for FY24 that covers the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 was approved. All program improvements from the current year will be sustained through next year. This includes increases to Mandarin language, computer science, general student services and the new Partners program for students with autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, the FY24 Budget includes release time to better support the growing enrollment in the Global Scholars Program as well as the launch of the Advisory Program.
Other notable features of the budget are as follows. The state approved a14% increase in special education tuitions. To mitigate the impact we increased our offset from circuit breaker reserves against the tuition line from $2,000, 000 to $3,050,000. Due to projected decreasing student enrollment we are decreasing teaching staff by 1.0 FTE (.25 History, .25 Math and .5 Science). The budget covers continued significant increased expenses related to transportation.
Prior to its approval budget underwent full review by the finance committees of Lincoln and Sudbury and was posted to a Public Hearing on 1/24. The approved budget satisfies the financial guidance provided by both towns. We appreciate the continued strong financial support of our educational program offered by both towns and the advice of our liaisons to those town committees. The Budget is not final until approved by the Town Meetings of both Lincoln (3/25) and Sudbury (which begins 5/1). The presentation slides from last night are attached.
Second, the 2023-24 Program of Studies was approved. This will be posted to the website shortly. The POS will be disseminated directly to grade 8 families and grade 9-11 in March. The updated POS includes language about cell phone use in school, student suspensions, Advisory, changes to the current schedule, new courses and course titles.
Third, an updated Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) policy was approved to be effective immediately. All districts that participate in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) programs are required to have an ATOD policy. The LS ATOD policy formerly applied to student athletes who were ‘in the presence of’ as well as use or distribution of illegal or prohibited ATOD. The LS ATOD policy has now been updated to eliminate the application of ‘in the presence of’. The consequence for the violation of the LS ATOD policy remains unchanged and is consistent with that propagated by the MIAA. Students who violate the ATOD must forfeit participation in 25% of a season’s worth of competitive events.
I express my appreciation to the School Committee for their consideration and positive approvals of our proposals and recommendations. Such recommendations were developed after extensive outreach and input on all facets of the proposed changes and documents. I extend this appreciation to the staff, administration, students, families, coaches and community members for their ready input to reach an outcome of consensus on these important matters. The level of enagagement demonstrated a high degree of interest and caring across all stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Bella Wong